Amid Newcastle United’s well-documented injury crisis, manager Steve Bruce has seemingly enjoyed one of Isaac Hayden’s key traits – his versatility. Indeed, as Transfermarkt’s positional data notes, the former Arsenal man has operated as a midfielder, a central defender and a right-wing back this season, proving his worth.
For his outing in a central defensive berth, the Chronicle came to the conclusion that he ‘didn’t do badly’ against Rochdale in what was a difficult game for the Toon Army following the introduction of the physically imposing veteran, Aaron Wilbraham. Not only that, but his appearance on the right-hand side of defence away at Wolves saw him given a 7/10 by the same outlet, who praised his ‘crucial tackles’.
Impressively, all this comes just a few months after the player announced he wanted to leave the club in order to be closer to his family. In fact, even in his more natural central midfield role, the 24-year-old has averaged the most tackles per game than any of his teammates (2.4, per WhoScored), so it’s clear to see he’s making an impact no matter what role.
🗣 "The manager has asked me to do a different job which I'm happy to do for the team."
Isaac Hayden spoke with NUFC TV after playing as a makeshift right wing-back at Molineux.
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) January 12, 2020
As you can see above, Hayden gave an interview to the club’s official Twitter feed following the draw in the Black Country on Saturday and revealed he was happy to play wherever the manager asked him to, prompting a number of supporters to show their support for the player.
https://twitter.com/ASM_SZN/status/1216404650624212994
respect to Hayden love the lad me
— Lee (@LMnufc87) January 12, 2020
👏🏻👏🏻. Mad respect to this lad
— Scotty K (@ScottyK_CDVI) January 12, 2020
Offer him a contract. Class attitude top lad and we are lucky to have him
— Marcus Macgeever (@marcusmacgeever) January 12, 2020
https://twitter.com/AdamTelford28/status/1216463474949226496
Hayden’s great. We need to keep hold of him. 👍🏻
— Marcus Nichols (@MarcusN86981811) January 12, 2020
How glad are you that Hayden stayed with the Toon? Join the discussion by commenting below…
